East
Harcourt, 2003
Fantasy Fiction
ISBN-10: 0152045635
494 pages
Synopsis
Rose has grown up in the north and that’s all she’s known her whole life. Her family is struggling, and it gets harder every year. The youngest of a large family, she always seems to have a wandering heart that can’t be tamed. One day, a talking polar bear appears at the door and offers fortune in exchange for Rose. Even though her family refuses, Rose ventures off with the bear to his magical castle. A mystery about the bear’s past and an unknown people that live at the north pole begins to unravel and Rose finds herself part of something she never could have imagined.
Critique
This is a wonderful Beauty and the Beast sort of story that takes a unique spin on Norse mythologies. The story is engaging, and both the bear and Rose are endearing characters who make you root for them and their love in the midst of all of the difficult circumstances. Pattou spins some beautiful language throughout and gives the audience a glimpse into a world largely untapped in literature within this genre, unveiling many of the local customs and ways of living for northern Europeans during the 19th Century. I recommend this book to anyone 10+.
Rating Rubric
Enjoyable Read: 
Original Fantasy: Original Plot: Language: Asthetics: Depth In Characters: Depth In Story: Social Commentary: Layers/Complexity: Classroom Text: Overall Rating:
For the Classroom
Even though most of this novel is set in a magical land adjacent to our own earth, many of the customs and mythologies are true to the peoples who inhabited Northern Europe around the 19th Century.
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